Tentative Alliance
by skimmy77
Summary: A Laurel x Felicity friendship fic. Felicity goes to visit Quentin Lance in the hospital and runs into Laurel. They have their first real conversation, and it's not an easy one.


**A/N: This was a collaboration between mylunarsolstice at Tumblr and myself. She's absolutely wonderful, and if you're on Tumblr, you should look her up and send her some love. **

Felicity had just gotten back from Lian Yu with Oliver and Diggle but went straight to the hospital. She had seen the notice that he was injured but couldn't go to him at first because she needed to coordinate with A.R.G.U.S about the dealings with Slade Wilson. She also stopped at Big Belly to grab both herself and Detective Lance some food. She may have never really been in a hospital for long, at least not long enough to be fed by them, but she heard enough horror stories and figured he would like the food better than flowers. After talking to the nurses' station and finding his room, she paused right outside his door when she saw who else was in the room with him. She had just gotten about three steps away when her name was called.

"Felicity?" She closed her eyes and sighed. She didn't want to talk to Laurel. Not gorgeous Laurel who made her nervous. Yet she knew it would be inevitable now that she knew Oliver's secret; well, more like all of their secret.

"Hi Laurel." She smiled as she turned to face her.

"What are you doing here?" She crossed her arms in front of her and sent a small glare towards her.

"I-I brought lunch." She faltered at the glare. She didn't understand the reasoning behind it. She had never done anything to Laurel, at least nothing that she could think of.

"Do you know someone who works here, or did someone close to you get hurt in the attack also?" Laurel had uncrossed her arms but her stance was still rigid.

"I actually came to visit your dad. I was alerted when you put the call in, but I never had a chance until now to come visit. How is he?" Felicity had stepped a little closer to the woman, but was still wary of her. Laurel crossed her arms again and looked away.

"He's okay now. It was rough in the beginning because they said he had internal bleeding, and a rib had broken and was putting pressure on his heart. Now it's just recovery and rest, and he hates it." She paused, looking at her thoughtfully. "Can we talk?"

Felicity hesitated before nodding her head. She followed Laurel in to the elevator and watched as she pushed the button for level two. It was quiet for the ride, except for the typical elevator music, but luckily it was a short ride. When they walked off, that's when Felicity saw the sign for the hospital cafeteria. When they entered, it was unusually empty for being two in the afternoon. Laurel took a seat first with Felicity sitting across from her. Laurel stared at her hands that sat atop the table while Felicity looked everywhere else but at her. Her hands were in her lap and she was picking at her nails or fidgeting with the hem of her top, wondering how long she was going to sit here before Laurel would say anything. When what felt like two hours had passed, when in reality it was only a few minutes, Laurel finally started asking her questions.

"Why you? Why did Ollie go to you? What makes you so special? Why didn't he trust me to help or know his secret? I just-"

"It's because when he first started he loved you too much. He knew what he was doing was extremely dangerous. He also knew that you were still hurt by what he did all that time ago. I want an honest answer; if you knew Oliver was the vigilante from the start, the same man your father was hunting down, would you turn him in or keep quiet?" Felicity asked.

Laurel stared at Felicity before looking at her hands on the table. She opened her mouth a couple times like she was about to say something before closing it. Felicity watched as her eyebrows furrowed together and a pained expression came across her face, before she looked Felicity straight in the eyes. "I don't know. Part of me says that I would keep the secret because I love him, but the other part of me says I would turn him in because of what he did."

Felicity nodded her head in understanding. "Laurel the other reason why I don't think he told you is because you knew him. Knew who he used to be and how he was. When he first came back from Lian Yu he was a monster. He only had one thing in mind, which was revenge. He didn't want you exposed to what he was doing."

"But I was already exposed to it. I work for the courts and my father is a damn detective! I've been working for and helping this city since he died!" she exclaimed.

"But there was only so much you and your father could do. How many times did you and your father lose a criminal because there was a loophole that they found and manipulated? You know as well as I do that sometimes the law can't hold a villain."

Laurel sent a glare towards Felicity. She flinched a little at it but didn't do anything else. "So are you trying to say that my father and I are incompetent?"

"No! I have never thought that. I've always thought you and your father were amazing at your jobs. But what I am trying to say is that sometimes outside help is needed. And that's when Oliver comes in. Look," Felicity tentatively reached over to grasp Laurel's hands. Laurel flinched slightly before accepting her touch. Felicity continued. "I think a lot of these questions you have need to be asked to Oliver, not me. I think you and Oliver have a lot to talk about, and I can't help you get closure on your questions, not the way you need."

Laurel scoffed. "Ollie and I were never really good at talking."

Felicity sighed. "Well, maybe he'll surprise you. Now that you know his biggest secret, he might be willing to open up to you. I think he at least owes you that. And if he doesn't, you can tell him that I have ways of messing with him so bad he won't know if he's coming or going." She smiled hesitantly, hoping it would lighten Laurel's mood.

She gave her a half-hearted smile. It was a start.

Felicity bit her lip. Her gut churned as she thought about her next words; she really wanted to befriend Laurel. Short of that, she at least wanted things to be less…awkward. "Can I ask you a question?"

Laurel nodded.

Felicity took a deep breath. "What, exactly, is it about me that you don't like?"

Laurel just stared at her.

"I mean," Felicity continued, intimidated by her stare, causing her defense babbling to kick in. "If it's because you think Oliver and I…we're not…he and I aren't, you know, a thing. That whole thing with Slade, it was a ruse. So he's totally available…I mean, if you wanted to get back together with him, I wouldn't get in the way. Because there is no 'way' for me to get in—"

Laurel finally spoke up. "Felicity," she interrupted, "Ollie and I aren't gonna get back together. We've already talked about it. As much as we might want to, there's just no going back for us. Too much has happened, and I don't think it's reparable."

"You don't know that," Felicity reassured. "If it's true love, those things are just obstacles—"

Laurel shook her head. "I've seen the way he looks at you."

Felicity blinked. "Uh, he doesn't—"

"Felicity," Laurel interrupted. "It doesn't matter. I don't dislike you. I'm just…" She struggled for words. "I don't know. Maybe at first, I didn't like you, because I thought…I don't know what I thought. Maybe it was jealousy, I don't know." She rubbed her forehead, sighing deeply. "Everything is confusing right now. I'm worried about my dad, I'm worried about Sara, if I'll see her again, I just found out that Ollie has been lying to me for two years..." She paused, and then scoffed. "Actually, he's been lying to me for a lot longer than that." She sighed deeply again. "Don't judge me, but it's times like these that I really, _really_, want a drink."

"I don't judge you," Felicity said quickly. "We all have our ways of coping. I stress eat. When I found out Oliver's secret, I ate an entire pint of mint chip."

Laurel smiled more genuinely this time. "That's Ollie's favorite flavor."

Felicity smiled back. "Is it? I didn't know that!"

Laurel stared at her thoughtfully. Felicity could feel herself being assessed by her, and it made her fidgety. "What?" she finally asked.

"Are you in love with him?"

Felicity stuttered. "I…uh…" She shook her head. "I…don't…" She shook her head again, her brain to mouth filter inexplicably blocking any words from leaving her mouth. "I don't…" she tried again.

"It's okay if you are," Laurel reassured. She sighed deeply. "Either way, it's becoming clear to me that he values you, a lot. You're important to him. And he's important to me. So, I'd like to start over with you."

Felicity smiled slowly. She nodded her head. "I'd like that too." All at once, all the tension she had been holding in her body fell away, and she sat back in her seat. "Also, you should know, you're very important to him too. You two have known each other most of your life, and you have a lot of history. That doesn't go away, nor should it. And, I still think you and Oliver need to have a good long heart to heart with each other."

Laurel nodded, smiling softly. She stood up, and Felicity followed suit. "You know, I think I'm gonna go home, take a shower, maybe fit in a nap. Why don't you hang out with my dad for a little while? I think he'd like to see you."

Felicity smiled at Laurel. She had much better feelings about her after their conversation. They were far from completely okay, but it was a good start. "Great, I'll do that. I'll see you later?"

Laurel nodded. "See you later, Felicity."

As Laurel started walking away, Felicity couldn't resist adding one more thing. "Oh, Laurel?"

She turned around, looking at Felicity inquisitively.

"Um…" Felicity twisted her hands nervously. "It's Oliver now."

Laurel tilted her head in confusion.

"Not Ollie. He hasn't been Ollie in a long time. Ollie was who he used to be before his five years of hell. Now...now he's Oliver, the man that changed to protect those he loves. I think that's a reason why you are still hurt over all that has happened because you can only remember him as Ollie. Maybe you should try and take the time to know who Oliver has really become. Just, you know, a thought."

A look of grief passed over Laurel's face briefly. "You're probably right," she conceded. She turned around and walked out of the cafeteria.

Felicity let out a long breath. _Well, it could have been worse._ She left the cafeteria to head to the elevator, looking forward to spending some time with her favorite detective.

**A/N: You can go ahead and ignore this author's note. I'm only using it to reply to a guest review.**

**Siobhan, you are certainly entitled to your opinion, and I knew before posting this that some people would have issues with it, because a lot of people don't like Laurel. And I'm not gonna try to change your mind. However, I would like to clarify one thing. I honestly don't think of Felicity as "inferior," or that she thinks of herself that way. What I do think, is that she's incredibly selfless and puts other before herself. Consistently. And I do think she cares about Laurel, and she knows, because of her empathy, that what Laurel needed at that moment was not some kind of competitive grand standing, which would make things worse, tbh. What Laurel needed was to be reminded of her importance in Oliver's life, because she probably felt threatened. Felicity is very good at reading people, and realizing what they need to become the best versions of themselves. And she wants that for Laurel, just as much as she wants that for Oliver. She doesn't need to "stake her claim," because she's very secure with her importance to Oliver. What she's doing is _giving_ to Laurel. Because that's what she does. Felicity gives. Always. She's a giver. And Laurel is not the exception to that. This is just my opinion.**


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